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Steamboat Springs — William Porter thinks a $5 space blanket and two large candles saved him.

The items helped keep the 54-year-old hunter alive this week when he got lost in California Park during a snowstorm. He spent two nights outside in below-freezing temperatures.

Porter was not available for comment Thursday, but he relayed his experiences to family members who came from Denver to assist in his search, officials said.

Routt County Search and Rescue member Darrel Levingston said he spoke with Porter's family.

"They said Bill was exhausted and that he was going to stay one more night at his hunting camp," he said.

Levingston said Porter's experience as an outdoorsman probably saved his life.

"He did have two large candles that he was able to use to make fire, but he claims what saved his life was a $5 space blanket he used to keep warm," he said. "He said he probably wouldn't have made it without that blanket."

Porter, 54, of Prospect, became lost Monday night when he lost his bearings during a snowstorm. California Park is north of Hayden.

Porter had been hunting with a brother-in-law and several other men Sunday when he left the men's camp on Monday to retrieve an elk he shot Sunday.

Levingston said Porter decided to walk due east, because "he knew he'd get out of the woods."

"He was lost in some pretty deep timber, but he should have just stopped," Levingston said.

One of the lessons Search and Rescue members drill into school programs and other educational events, is to stop where you are when you realize you're lost.

"One of the biggest lessons we learned yesterday, and something we tell people over and over, is that as soon as you realize you're lost, just stop. Find shelter and wait to be found," he said.

Levingston said if Porter had stopped immediately, he may have been found earlier.

"If he had stopped walking three or fours hours after he realized he was lost, we may have found him the first day, or might have been able to get to him the second day," he said.

Porter was found around 9 p.m. Wednesday after he found another hunter's camp. Those hunters drove Porter to the Whispering Pine Lodge, a lodge north of Porter's original hunting camp.

Porter did not need medical attention, but he did suffer some bumps and bruises from "a few stumbles he took," Levingston said.

Porter reportedly asked law enforcement officers to take him back to his hunting camp Wednesday night.

Levingston said Porter was going to stay at his camp again Thursday night.

As a rule of thumb, Leving-ston said all hunters should be aware of the unpredictable Colorado weather and be prepared for anything.

"We've seen it before, and we'll see it again," he said. "People should be prepared to spend a night in the woods even if they're just planning on an afternoon picnic or half-hour snowshoe. You just never know."

- To reach Alexis DeLaCruz, call 871-4234 or e-mail adelacruz@steamboatpilot.com